Romantic ballet - Romantic Tutu. The costume for the romantic ballerina was the Romantic tutu. This was a full, white, multi-layered skirt made of tulle. The ballerina wore a white bodice with the tutu. In the second acts of Romantic ballets, representing the spiritual realm, the corps de ballet appeared onstage in Romantic tutus, giving the name to the term "white act" or "ballet blanc". < ...

See also:

Romantic ballet, Romantic ballet - Cult of the ballerina, Romantic ballet - Design and scenography, Romantic ballet - Romantic Tutu, Romantic ballet - Special Effects, Romantic ballet - Important ballets

Read more here: » Romantic ballet: Encyclopedia II - Romantic ballet - Design and scenography

A Theosophical definition of Pratyeka Buddha :

Pratyeka Buddha

(Sanskrit) Pratyeka is a compound of two words: prati, prepositional prefix meaning "towards" or "for"; eka, the numeral "one"; thus we can translate the compound by the paraphrase "each one for himself."

The Pratyeka Buddha, he who achieves buddhahood for himself, instead of feeling the call of almighty love to return and help those who have gone less far, goes ahead into the supernal light  - passes onwards and enters the unspeakable bliss of nirvana  - and leaves mankind behind. Though exalted, nevertheless he does not rank with the unutterable sublimity of the Buddha of Compassion.

The Pratyeka Buddha concentrates his energies on the one objective  - spiritual self-advancement: he raises himself to the spiritual realm of his own inner being, enwraps himself therein and, so to speak, goes to sleep. The Buddha of Compassion raises himself, as does the Pratyeka Buddha, to the spiritual realms of his own inner being, but does not stop there, because he expands continuously, becomes one with All, or tries to, and in fact does so in time. When the Pratyeka Buddha in due course emerges from the nirvanic state in order to take up his evolutionary journey again, he will find himself far in the rear of the Buddha of Compassion.

See also: Pratyeka Buddha, Mysticism, Body Mind and Soul)

Tengu inhabit the mountains of Japan, preferring deep forests of pine and cryptomeria. They are particularly associated with Mt. Takao and Mt. Kurama. The land of the tengu is known as Tengudo, which may be a specific physical location, a part of some spiritual realm, or simply a name for any tengu settlement. Legends often describe tengu society as hierarchical. The karasu tengu act as servants and messengers for the yamabushi tengu. At the top sits the tengu king, the white-haired Sojobo who lives on Mt. Kurama. ...

See also:

Tengu, Tengu - Appearance, Tengu - Behaviour, Tengu - Origins and development, Tengu - Popular Culture

Read more here: » Tengu: Encyclopedia II - Tengu - Behaviour

Anubis

An Egyptian deity with the head of a jackal or dog and the body of a human. He leads the souls of the dead to the underworld and helps Osiris at his final judgment. Anubis' particular concern is with the funeral cult and the care of the dead, and, Anubis is often considered the inventor of embalming. Considered benevolent and good, Anubis was present in the underworld (Duat) at the weighing of the dead person's soul, and was also at home in the heavenly sky realms of Ra. Anubis was worshipped at Abydos and was also worshiped at Lycopolis, Abt and other cities. Although the god's name is translated in texts as Anubis, this is actually the Greek form of the Egyptian name Anpu.

(See also: Anubis, New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Hamingja (Icelandic) Also fylgja. Luck, lot, or fortune in the Norse Edda; a human being's guardian angel, the spiritual soul who guides his destiny. She is descended from the norns, who are the hamingjas of the world. To bestow one's hamingja on another is to give a blessing. When a human being dies, his hamingja departs, withdrawn to its own divine realm.

(See also: Hamingja, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Mal'achim (Hebrew) Mal'achayya' (Chaldean) [plural of mal'ach messenger]

Also mal'akhim. A generalizing term for messengers, ministrants, ministers, or angels in the original sense of intermediaries or mediators between the spiritual and the more material realms; hence it is applicable to all the ten classes of angelic beings of the Qabbalistic hierarchy. Applied especially to the messengers of God in the Bible, generally rendered angels, also termed Benei-'Elohim (sons of the gods).

See also 'ISHIM

(See also: Mal'achim, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Hamingja (Icelandic) Also fylgja. Luck, lot, or fortune in the Norse Edda; a human being's guardian angel, the spiritual soul who guides his destiny. She is descended from the norns, who are the hamingjas of the world. To bestow one's hamingja on another is to give a blessing. When a human being dies, his hamingja departs, withdrawn to its own divine realm.

(See also: Hamadryad, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Diamond, Diamond-heart The diamond is a symbol signifying the imperishable attributes of the cosmic quinta essentia -- the fifth essence of medieval mystics.

In Northern Buddhism, the unmanifest Logos, being too spiritual to manifest in material realms directly, sends into the world of manifestation its heart, the diamond heart (vajrasattva, dorjesempa) which is the manifest Logos, from which emanate the Third Logos which collectively is the seven cosmic dhyani-buddhas.

Manushya-buddhas, when their personality has become merged in atma-buddhi, are also called diamond-souled because of their spiritual approach to their cosmic prototype; otherwise they are mahatmas of the highest class.

(See also: Diamond, Diamond-heart, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

The purpose of human life, say Bahá'ís, is spiritual growth. This is conceived almost as an organic process, like the development of a fetus, and continues after death. Rather than a heaven and hell strictly speaking (or reincarnation, for that matter), Bahá'ís teach an afterlife in which the soul may progress infinitely through ever-more-exalted spiritual realms, towards what Buddhists call Nirvana. Bahá'ís believe that while God's essence can never be fully fathomed, he can be understood through his "names and attributes." The ...

See also:

Bahá'í teachings, Bahá'í teachings - Overview, Bahá'í teachings - Summary, Bahá'í teachings - Social Principles, Bahá'í teachings - Mystical Teachings, Bahá'í teachings - Excerpts from the Bahá'í Writings, Bahá'í teachings - Oneness of Mankind, Bahá'í teachings - Unity of Religion, Bahá'í teachings - Drugs, Bahá'í teachings - Government

Read more here: » Bahá'í teachings: Encyclopedia II - Bahá'í teachings - Mystical Teachings

actinic: Spiritual, creating light. Adjective derived from the Greek aktis, "ray." Of or pertaining to consciousness in its pure, unadulterated state. Describes the extremely rarified superconscious realm of pure bindu, of quantum strings, the substratum of consciousness, shuddha maya, from which light first originates. Actinic is the adjective form of actinism, defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as:

1)   "the radiation of heat or light, or that branch of philosophy that treats of it;

2)    that property or force in the sun's rays by which chemical changes are produced, as in photography."

See: actinodic, kala, kosha, odic, tattva.

(See also: Actinic, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Creation Myth

The legend of the origins of the world, often falling in one of four types.

1)    creation from nothing in which God fashions Heaven and Earth from sound, word/thought.

2)    creation from a cosmic egg in which the universe arises from complementary opposite principles.

3)    an Earth diver story in which an emissary from the heavenly realm plunges into the chaos below and brings up clay or mud to fashion the Earth.

4)    an emergence myth in which the first people emerge into the world of light from the underworld below.

(See also: Creation Myth, New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

guru bhakti: (Sanskrit) Devotion to the teacher.

The attitude of humility, love and loyality held by a student in any field of study. In the spiritual realm, the devotee strives to see the guru as his higher Self.

By attuning himself to the satguru's inner nature and wisdom, the disciple slowly transforms his own nature to ultimately attain the same peace and enlightenment his guru has achieved.

Guru bhakti is expressed through serving the guru, meditating on his form, working closely with his mind and obeying his instructions.

See: guru, satguru, guru-shishya system, Kularnava Tantra.

(See also: Guru bhakti, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

actinic: Spiritual, creating light. Adjective derived from the Greek aktis, "ray." Of or pertaining to consciousness in its pure, unadulterated state. Describes the extremely rarified superconscious realm of pure bindu, of quantum strings, the substratum of consciousness, shuddha maya, from which light first originates. Actinic is the adjective form of actinism, defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as:

1)   "the radiation of heat or light, or that branch of philosophy that treats of it;

2)    that property or force in the sun's rays by which chemical changes are produced, as in photography."

See: actinodic, kala, kosha, odic, tattva.

(See also: Actinic, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Ganga (Sanskrit) The Ganges, the sacred river of India. The Puranas and old tales of India represent the goddess Ganga transforming herself into a river and then flowing from the toe of Vishnu. She is said to have been brought from heaven by the prayers of Bhagiratha to purify the ashes of the 60,000 sons of King Sagara who had been consumed by the angry glance of the sage Kapila.

The Ganges, like many other ancient, highly revered streams, was an emblem of the flowing from spirit to matter, or from celestial realms to material, of occult forces including streams of wisdom and power flowing from heaven to earth or from gods to mankind, an idea which once understood kept perennially before people's minds the reality of the spiritual worlds and their intimate interconnection with the realms of physical space and time.

As the true interpretation of this old tale gradually was lost, there arose the religious belief that the actual waters of the Ganges were sin-cleansing, reminiscent of the supposed sin-cleansing power of the river Jordan in Christian and even in certain Jewish thought.

(See also: Ganga, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

ACIM is a profound metaphysical document, addressing concepts which transcend the physical realm. It deals extensively with how our minds are manifesting the physical reality we appear to live in, including our bodies, the earth and even space and time itself. It is also considered a course in spiritual psychotherapy and healing for individuals who are looking to heal themselves and the world that appears before them. These healings not only include those of bodies that appear ill, but also of minds which think they are frightened, alone, in ...

See also:

Community Miracles Center, Community Miracles Center - The CMC's Programs, Community Miracles Center - What Is A Course In Miracles ?, Community Miracles Center - Statement Of Dedication, Community Miracles Center - Contact Information

Read more here: » Community Miracles Center: Encyclopedia II - Community Miracles Center - What Is A Course In Miracles ?

Six-pointed Star The double triangle or Solomon's Seal; in India called the sign of Vishnu, where it "is the emblem of the Trimurti three in one. The triangle with its apex upward indicates the male principle, downward the female; the two typifying, at the same time, spirit and matter."

(IU 2:270; cf also diagrams in IU 2:264-5, 452-3) The six-pointed star is found in symbolical representations of the earliest cosmogonies. When the six-pointed star is formed of two interlaced equilateral triangles -- one light with the apex pointing upward, the other dark with the apex pointing downward, both triangles being symmetrically placed with regard to one central point -- and the double figure is surrounded by a circle, the sign represents the universe, spirit and matter, the alpha and omega in the cosmos, and involution and evolution. In the Qabbalistic presentation of the figure, instead of a circle surrounding the star a serpent is portrayed as swallowing its tail, as in the seal of the Theosophical Society:

This is the Egyptian symbol of time and eternity, and of ever-recurring cycles: of birth and death, manvantara and pralaya, to which the universe and every entity within it are subject. In theosophy it symbolizes further the six forces or powers of nature, the six cosmic planes, principles, etc., all synthesized by the seventh, or central point within the star.

The apex of the light triangle symbolizes the spiritual-divine monad, having its habitat in the spiritual-divine realms; the apex of the dark triangle, the human monad, having its habitat in the middle realm of conflict between spirit and matter, the apex itself being in the worlds of manifestation, the two sides extending from it reaching upwards towards the spiritual realm and representing evolution through aspiration and efforts towards a spiritual life. On the other hand, the two sides extending downwards from the apex of the light triangle represent the rays streaming from the spiritual-divine monad to enlighten, inspire, and uplift all beings in the manifested worlds. In the case of man, the human monad represented by the apex of the dark triangle is the reflection or child of the spiritual-divine monad or inner god.

The central geometrical point, having neither length, breadth, nor thickness, represents the invisible spiritual sun, the light of the unmanifested deity. Sometimes instead of a geometrical point, a crux ansata with a circle as its zenith appears -- symbol of limitless, uncreated space, as is a cross within a circle.

Again, the pentagram or five-pointed star may take the place of the central point, in which case the pentagram symbolizes the microcosm or man, within the macrocosm or universe. "The double triangle representing symbolically, the Macrocosm, or great universe, contains in itself besides the idea of the duality (as shown in the two colours, and two triangles -- the universe of Spirit and that of Matter) -- those of the Unity, of the Trinity, of the Pythagorean Tetractys -- the perfect Square -- and up to the Dodecagon and the Dodecahedron" (BCW 3:313).

See also SENARY; SEAL OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

(See also: Six-pointed Star, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Tala (Sanskrit) Lower or inferior portions of a series, inferior world; also a chasm, abyss, floor. All these ideas suggest lower or inferior planes. Often used in conjunction with loka (place, world). The talas stand for the material aspects or substance-principles of the different worlds which are the cosmic universe, in contrast with the lokas which suggest the spiritual aspect of the universe.

The number of loka-talas is generally given as seven, though the number varies, all the seven lokas and seven talas interblending and interworking to form the universe and all its various hierarchies. The seven talas are generally given in theosophical writings as atala, vitala, sutala, rasatala, talatala, mahatala, and patala.

Because the lokas are more particularly the spheres of spiritual and intellectual character, and the talas the spheres of vehicular or more substantial character, it has been customary in Indian literature to speak of the lokas as heavens and the talas as hells -- neither heavens nor hells bearing the shades of meaning attached to them in Christian theology. Every substantial globe is considered a hell; our own earth, for instance, bhurloka-patala, is so considered. All these talas are in the last analysis rising or descending realms forming the astral light which is not one sole restricted realm or sphere.

(See also: Tala, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Mahasunya or Mahasunyata (Sanskrit) [from maha great + sunyata emptiness]

The great void; when considered in its positive aspect, boundless space, including all the spaces of space, and therefore the universe and all that is in it considered from the spiritual and divine standpoints, which to intelligences living in lower realms seem to be the great Void.

When considered from its negative aspect, cosmic illusion (mahamaya) because the entire boundless objective universe with all its visible or invisible planes is, from the standpoint of the divine-spiritual, unreal and illusive, i.e., impermanent and transitory, although lasting spans which to human comprehension might seem almost an eternity.

Thus both the positive and negative significances are based upon the fundamental idea of the utter reality of the divine-spiritual, and the unreality, impermanence, and fleeting character of all that is objective.

(See also: Mahasunya, Mahasunyata, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Black Jewels Trilogy - Protagonists. Jaenelle is the main character, the young witch destined to become Queen of the Darkness aka Witch. Birthright Black descended to Ebony, broken back to Twilight's Dawn. Saetan SaDiablo is the High Lord of Hell, and is Jaenelle's spiritual and adopted father. Birthright Red descended to Black. Anne Bishop uses the concept of a triangle - the Steward, First Consort/Escort, and Master of the Guard who form the male triangle that surrounds a ...

See also:

Black Jewels Trilogy, Black Jewels Trilogy - Plot summary, Black Jewels Trilogy - Character summary, Black Jewels Trilogy - Protagonists, Black Jewels Trilogy - Locations, Black Jewels Trilogy - Realms, Black Jewels Trilogy - Magic system and mythology

Read more here: » Black Jewels Trilogy: Encyclopedia II - Black Jewels Trilogy - Character summary

Death Death is not a thing in itself, but one of the phases or temporary events in the unending dramas of life, so that the opposite of death is birth rather than life. In other words, the opposite of manifested life is unmanifest life, pralaya and its aeonic rest.

Manvantara and pralaya are phases in the endless flow of the alternating current of cosmic motion, which is the immediate result of the life-breath of the spiritual essence at the heart of everything in manifestation. The same eternal motion which brings everything into objective existence has thereby caused the death of the same entity on the previous subjective plane of life. Then, when the lifetime of this manifestation ends, the reverse of this rhythmic motion causes the death of the entity from objective existence, and carries it back to be reborn into its subjective life.

This law applies universally to solar systems, planets, human beings, atoms, etc. The reincarnating ego is born and dies on each of the successive planes of existence through which it descends from spiritual realms to be reborn again on earth. The same rhythmic motion reversed spells death here, with the same repeated births and deaths on its ascending journey to its spiritual home.

Death occurs not from a lack of life, but because the ceaseless motion of the vital essence is wearing out the body. The senility of old age means that certain elements are already drifting in the reverse current that is setting towards the other side of the veil. With the last heartbeat, the dying person is vitally aware of a detailed panorama of his passing life as the field of experience which he is to harvest in the inner world he is about to be born into. The atoms of his body, freed from his spiritual cohering force, separate actively, each to find its appropriate field of action in nature's kingdoms. The adept, while still living in the world, has so far conquered death by self-conquest that he can use his developed spiritual will to enter into and consciously function in the realms of spiritual beings. Paul's mystical saying "I die daily," is true of the initiate who steadily transmutes some degree of his selfish personality to vitalize his higher nature.

There is a close connection between death, sleep, and initiation, sleep being an incomplete death and initiation being a conscious experience of the afterdeath states.

See also DEVACHAN; KAMA-LOKA; PRALAYA; REIMBODIMENT; SECOND DEATH

(See also: Death, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

A Theosophical definition of Circulations of the Kosmos :

Circulations of the Kosmos

Also Circulations of the Universe. This is a term used in the ancient wisdom or esoteric philosophy to signify the network, marvelously intricate and builded of the channels or canals or paths or roads followed by peregrinating or migrating entities as these latter pass from sphere to sphere or from realm to realm or from plane to plane. T

he pilgrim monads, however far advanced or however little advanced in their evolution, inevitably and ineluctably follow these circulations. They can do nothing else, for they are simply the spiritual, psychomagnetic, astral, and physical pathways along which the forces of the universe flow; and consequently, all entities whatsoever being indeed imbodiments of forces must of necessity follow the same routes or pathways that the abstract forces themselves use.

These circulations of the kosmos are a veritable network between planet and planet, and planet and sun, and between sun and sun, and between sun and universe, and between universe and universe. Furthermore, the circulations of the kosmos are not restricted to the material or astral spheres, but are of the very fabric and structure of the entire universal kosmos, inner as well as outer. It is one of the most mystical and suggestive doctrines of theosophy.

See also: Circulations of the Kosmos, Mysticism, Body Mind and Soul)

A Theosophical definition of Asvattha :

Asvattha

(Sanskrit) The mystical tree of knowledge, the mystical tree of kosmical life and being, represented as growing in a reversed position: the branches extending downwards and the roots upwards. The branches typify the visible kosmical universe, the roots the invisible world of spirit.

The universe among the ancients of many nations was portrayed or figurated under the symbol of a tree, of which the roots sprang from the divine heart of things, and the trunk and the branches and the branchlets and the leaves were the various planes and worlds and spheres of the kosmos. The fruit of this kosmic tree contained the seeds of future "trees," being the entities which had attained through evolution the end of their evolutionary journey, such as men and the gods  - themselves universes in the small, and destined in the future to become kosmic entities when the cycling wheel of time shall have turned through long aeons on its majestic round. In fact, every living thing, and so-called inanimate things also, are trees of life, with their roots above in the spiritual realms, with their trunks passing through the intermediate spheres, and their branches manifesting in the physical realms.

See also: Asvattha, Mysticism, Body Mind and Soul)